Law 11 - Offside/Not Offside

A player is in an offside position if he/she is ahead of the ball, unless:

The player is in his/her own half of the field of play, or

He/she is not nearer to the opponents' goal-line than the second-to-last defender.

A player shall not be declared offside and penalized:

Merely for being in an offside position, or

If he/she receives the ball directly from a goal-kick, corner-kick, throw-in, or dropped by the referee.

A player shall only be declared offside and penalized for being in an offside position if, at the moment the ball is played by one of his/her team, he/she in the opinion of the referee, is:

Interfering with play or with an opponent, or

Gaining an advantage by being in that position.

If a player is declared offside, the referee shall award an indirect free kick, which shall be taken by any player of the opposing team from the approximate place where the offside player was standing; or from anywhere within the goal area, if the infringement occurred within the goal area.